As the bandwidth of communication systems increases, more and more information can be communicated to users that are connected in and to these systems. While the ability to communicate more information offers many opportunities, it becomes more difficult to provide users with meaningful access to the information. Thus, increased bandwidth makes data presentation especially important.
For example, one of the advantages of digital television lies in the number of channels that are available in such systems and the flexibility that is available to the television service provider regarding what channel choices may be made available to a subscriber of the service. Other than a standard set of subscription channels, the system may also include other access-controlled channels such as, for example, pay-per-view channels that enable a subscriber to pay for a particular film, sporting event, etc. In addition, the digital television system may allow the user to access a number of other interactive services, such as a text-based program guides, weather maps, mosaic displays of available channels, etc. These services may be associated with dedicated digital television channels used to carry the information. While text-based program guides and mosaic displays of available channels can simplify the tuning of desired programs, there remains a need to provide an interface that provides simple and intuitive access to the wide variety of services currently offered, and to be offered in the future, in communications systems.